I've been trying to stick to my goal of writing holiday stories as they approach so I'm a little behind on my updates. Thanks for sticking with me and this story in spite of it, though. All characters belong to Janet. Any mistakes are mine.

Chapter 5

Connie was at her desk when I walked into the bonds office. I looked around and didn't see Lula taking up her usual spot on the couch.

"Where's Lula?" I asked Connie.

She rolled her eyes."She said she had a date." Connie looked at the clock."I guess it went pretty good, since she ain't here yet."

I didn't want to think about what Lula had been doing to make her late.

"Got anyone for me today?"

Connie picked up a folder."Charlie Braxtin. He's not going to pay your rent this month, but I don't think he'll try to kill you, either."

That was good news, I thought to myself, as I took the folder from Connie. Not so much the money part, but it's always a nice change of pace to go after a skip who won't try to murder me.

The door opened behind me and Lula strolled in. From the smile on her face, I had to agree with Connie that Lula's date had gone well.

"Have fun last night?" I asked her.

"You bet your ass," Lula said, plopping down onto the couch."If it keeps goin' like it did last night, I might get a ring just like yours. Well, maybe not just like yours, seein' as how you could buy a small country with the ring you're sportin'."

"How many times have you been out with this guy?" Connie asked her.

"This was our third date," Lula said to her,"but I can tell I got somethin' here."

"You're not going to trick him into proposing, are you?"

Lula narrowed her eyes at me."I'm keep tellin' you, Tank wanted to propose to me, he just needed some motivation."

If that's the way she wanted to remember it, why should I alter her memory with the truth?

"I'm just saying that maybe this time you should wait until he buys the ring and asks you himself."

"You get Batman to propose," Lula said to me,"and suddenly you're a relationship expert?"

Well, finally, someone has come up with something that I've never been called before. I sucked at relationships.

"So where we headed today?" Lula asked me.

"Oh no you don't," Connie said to Lula."You know Vinnie was in a rant yesterday about getting this office organized. You're staying put."

"I don't see why I gotta," Lula said, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.

"Because you were hired to help me, remember?"

"Shit," Lula said."I didn't actually think you'd make me do it. I should've been promoted or something by now."

"Promoted to what?" I asked her.

"I protect your ass all day long, what would you call that?"

Insane, because fifty percent of the time I think I'm safer going out alone. Lula's probably the only other person on earth with worse luck than I have.

"I don't have anybody important to catch today," I told her,"so you won't be missing anything by staying here. Plus you won't have to go very far for lunch. Tasty Pastry, Cluck-in-a-Bucket, McDonalds, and the deli, are all five minutes away.

"You got a point," Lula said, no longer pouting.

I started towards the front door thinking I should go before she thought of another reason not to stay here.

"I'm gonna head out then," I told them, over my shoulder."I'll see you guys later."

I left the bonds office and buckled myself in. I said a brief prayer and started my car. At least, I tried to start my car, but nothing happened. Shit.

Ranger had wanted me to take one of the fleet vehicles, but I always managed to kill whatever he gave me and I didn't want to add another car to the list. Not to mention, I had spent a chunk of my hard earned cash on this car, although an admittedly small chunk, and I was determined to drive the stupid thing for however long it took the engine to completely die. It looked like today it was finally heading to car heaven. Oh well, it'd have plenty of company. I swear there was a whole lot up there set aside just for vehicles owned by me.

I was hoping Ranger was still out of the office, but I knew karma wouldn't be that kind to me. I really didn't want to hear an I told you so from Ranger, about how I should've taken a vehicle guaranteed to run, in case he was back in the building so I called the control and told them I needed a pick-up.

Ten minutes later, Ranger's 911 parked at the curb behind my Escort. Crap. Ranger angled out from behind the wheel and walked over to where I was standing with Lula who'd come out to wait with me when she saw my car wasn't going to move.

"Do you need a ride?" Ranger asked me, a slight smile on his lips.

I sighed."Yes."

"I'm your man."

I took a second to process that."You are, aren't you?" I said, smiling up at him. It felt strange to put what we have into words. I've always been scared to step fully into a relationship after what Dickie did to me, but with Ranger it was easier than I ever thought it would be.

"Yes," Ranger said."Don't forget it."

As if I could? Or would even want to?

Lula looked back and forth between us, fanning her face with her hand."I'd better be in the wedding," she said, finally collecting herself,"seein' as how I was rooting for the two of you from the get go."

I didn't say anything to that. We haven't really discussed the wedding yet, and I sure as heck haven't given any thought to who would be what in it.

"Sure," I said to her."I'll let you know when we have it figured out." And I quickly stepped behind the passenger door Ranger was holding open for me. I buckled myself in as Ranger slid behind the wheel.

I blew out a breath."That was close," I said.

Ranger eased onto Hamilton and looked over at me."Still freaked out over the thought of a wedding?"

I was more than a little surprised when the usual wedding inspired nausea didn't come.

"I never thought I'd say this but ... no."

Ranger smiled all two hundred watts at me."Good. Where are we going?" Ranger asked, pulling away from the curb.

Since the only FTA I have is a low bond, I figured I'd make more money doing searches for Rangeman instead. Not to mention, I didn't exactly have a car to take anyone in even if I did feel like chasing someone down. And since my car had just died, I now needed as many Rangeman paychecks as I could get to buy myself a new one.

"Back to Rangeman," I said to him.

He looked over at me and I explained my income logic to him.

"Babe," Ranger said to me,"you don't need to worry about money, I have plenty."

"Yes, you have a lot of money. I, on the other hand, don't have any." He started to speak, but I held my hand up stopping him."Just because we're engaged doesn't mean I'm going to be more of a financial burden than I already am."

After all, he was the one who said he bleeds money every time I'm in danger. I wasn't going to add to it.

Ranger grabbed my hand and tugged on it to get my attention."I'd pay whatever price I had to just to make sure that you're safe. Clothes, cars, rings, all can be replaced. You are the one thing in my life that can't be." He did what for him could be considered a sigh. The slightest whisper of expelled breath."I know what I told you, but I'm not bleeding money to keep you safe. I'm spending money to keep me sane. I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if something happened to you when I could have prevented it."

This was one of those times when I decided that I liked the ESP thing. Ranger had just said everything I needed to hear to make me let go of the doubts that I wasn't even aware I was having.

I leaned over and placed a small kiss on his jaw."Thank you for saying that," I told him."I'm not trying to be difficult here, it's just that I need to feel like I'm contributing something to this relationship."

"Babe, you're contributing a lot. Just ask the guys. No one has gotten the shit beat out of them in the gym since we've started seeing each other."

"So you're ... what? A kinder, gentler, Ranger now?"

Ranger gave me the almost smile."You don't believe that?"

"No," I said to him. He may be kinder and gentler towards me, but he still scared the crap out of everyone else.

I leaned my head back into the seat while Ranger turned down Haywood and keyed us into the garage. Now that I was here I really didn't want to do any searches, but I didn't have a choice since I needed money and didn't want to have to take Ranger's. That didn't make my cubby any more inviting, though.

While I was debating money over boredom, Ranger had opened my door and was looking down at me.

"Deep thoughts, Babe?"

"Not really," I said, getting out of the car. I wasn't about to tell him that I didn't want to be stuck working alone at my desk all day.

Ranger pulled me close and pressed the five button on the elevator."I have an account that could use your input if you wanted something else to do today."

I looked up at him. Doesn't the ESP ever take a second off? I mean, I'll admit that it cuts down on the misunderstandings in our relationship but, jeez, I'd like to not have Ranger reading my mind twenty-four-seven.

"It's not ESP, Babe," Ranger said."I can see what you're thinking clearly on your face. And right now you'd rather pull out all your fingernails than do searches right now."

I narrowed my eyes at him."This would be more fun if I could read your mind," I told him.

He smiled down at me."You'd be surprised at how well you can read me," Ranger said."You probably know me better than anyone else, with the exception of Tank."

"Really?" I asked, getting out of the elevator.

"Yes," he said."So what would you like to do?"

I blew out a sigh."Anything that doesn't require me being stuck inside a cubicle."

Ranger's smiled widened. I waved to the guys at the monitoring station as we passed. Ranger sat behind his desk and unrolled the two blueprints that were sitting on top of it. I went to go stand next to him to see the plans, but Ranger tugged on my wrist when I got close enough and I ended up sitting on him instead.

"This doesn't seem very professional," I said to him, leaning back against his chest.

"I'm the boss, Babe, I don't have to be professional," Ranger said, wrapping an arm around me."At least, not with you."

"So what's the job?" I asked.

"A local jewelry store owner wants his store, along with his house, set up with the highest level of security we offer."

"His house, too?"

"He's been known to keep some of his inventory there."

"And this is common knowledge?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Uh-oh."

"Exactly. I want you to look at the plans and point out any place that you've found someone hiding."

I looked up at him."You mean where I found people hiding in my apartment? Or where I've found skips hiding from me?"

Ranger looked at me for a long moment. Probably recalling every one of my near misses.

"Both," he finally said.

An hour and a half later, Ranger had the blueprints rolled back up and my brain felt sufficiently picked.

"Maybe we could go out for lunch and then head over to his store and have a look around," I said."We might be able to get a better idea of where everything needs to go. You know, just in case we missed something."

Ranger gave me a smile, telling me he knew what I was thinking."You just want to spend the day looking at jewelry."

"And?"

Ranger looked pointedly down at my left hand."You don't have enough of your own?"

I gave my head a small shake. Men. They'd never understand.

"First off," I said to him,"you can never have too much jewelry. That's just a fact. And second, you can look all you want at expensive stuff without having to actually buy it."

"Why would you want to look at something you don't intend to buy?"

See what I mean? Men don't understand anything at all when it comes to shopping.

"It's a girl thing, I guess." I would point out that men do the exact same thing with vehicles. They're always looking at tricked-out cars and pimped-up trucks that they'll never be able to afford. Unfortunately, that wouldn't help Ranger understand, though. When Ranger wanted a car, any car, it showed up in the Rangeman garage twenty four hours later. Sometimes even sooner than that.

"So if looking at jewelry is out," I said to him."What about lunch?"

Ranger moved my hair out of his way and pressed a kiss to the nape of my neck."What would you like to have for lunch?" He asked me after another kiss. This time to the spot just below my ear.

Mmmm ... loaded question, I thought.

"How long do we have?" I asked him.

"All afternoon?"

I turned and looked up at him."You don't have something to do?"

"I always have something to do, Babe," Ranger said,"but there's nothing critical right now."

"Wow," I said."You're really serious about taking time off, aren't you?"

"It's been pointed out that I may need a break once and a while."

"Yeah, but ..." I stopped. Since I'm the one that said it, what if it bites me in the butt? More time spent with me could mean that Ranger would get sick of me eventually. I already knew from past experience that I'm hard to live with.

"Babe."

"What?"

"Stop thinking that way," Ranger said, brushing a kiss across my temple.

"What way?"

"I've been spending time with you, and watching over you, for years. All by choice, Steph," Ranger said."I asked you to work for my company before we were even seeing each other. And I want you to marry me. Why would you think that I'd suddenly get tired of you now?"

"You really need to stop doing that," I told him, although I was doing a mental happy dance just from hearing that."Old habits die hard, I guess," I said by way of an explanation."Sometimes I relapse and start doubting what you see in me, but I promise I'm done doing it. You've never givenmeany reason to question your motives, and I'm not about to give you a reason to question them now."

"I'm not going to get tired of you. The doubts, putting yourself in danger, and your hormonal grandmother, yes. But not you. I know exactly what I want. And now that I finally have it, I'm not letting anything get in the way of it. And that includes any doubts you may have. You've trusted me in the past, Babe, and you can trust me with your future."

"I do trust you, Ranger," I said to him, my eyes holding his."And I always will." Ranger's lips tipped up and he gave me a very thorough kiss that made believers out of us both.

When we finally pulled apart, Ranger shut his computer down and stood me up with him. He called Ella and told her we'd be up on seven for lunch, then wrapped an arm around me and moved us out of the office.

We ran into Tank on the way to the elevator and Ranger stopped to talk to him. I have a good relationship with the men of Rangeman, but there are still times when I feel like they have a line between me, 'the boss' girlfriend,' and them that makes it hard for them to feel completely comfortable with me. Fiance, I corrected myself. Damn, that was going to take some getting used to. But I've made considerable progress in fixing that. These men were some of the bravest people I'd ever met, and they deserved to know that Ranger and I care about what happens to them. And you would think that Tank would have been the hardest nut to crack, because he didn't talk much and he's almost six and a half feet tall and looked like solid muscled menace, but knowing that Tank was Ranger's best friend made things easier. Ranger wouldn't be friends with someone undeserving of it, and Tank wanted Ranger to be happy and seemed to agree with Ranger that I help keep him that way, so we got along pretty good.

Ranger wrapped up his conversation with Tank without me really hearing any of it. That's the problem with talking to yourself Stephanie, I said to myself, you end up missing anything anyone else has to say. But, since Ranger and Tank don't gossip, I'm pretty sure they were only discussing business so it was unlikely that I'd missed out on anything interesting.

Tank's phone rang and, after a nod to both Ranger and I, he answered it while walking back to his office. We stepped into the elevator and Ranger hit seven. Two minutes later, he was unlocking his apartment door for me. This was probably the first time we didn't end up in the bedroom seconds after the door closed behind us. It was nice knowing that we were guaranteed time together. No longer having to settle for a quick kiss in an alley when no one was looking. We had the night ahead of us and didn't need to rush any part of it.

We ate sandwiches at the kitchen bar and then settled down on the couch in Ranger's den. Sitting cuddled up on Ranger's lap watching TV was a different kind of sexy. This was proof that even without sex we still like being with each other.

By five, Ranger's phone started buzzing. We managed to get a couple hours of down time, but Ranger was the boss and I knew it was only a matter of time. While he answered his phone, I called down to Ella and let her know we'd be ready for supper in a little while. A shower sounded like a good idea and when I finally dragged myself out from under the hot water, and came back to see what I might've missed while I was gone, I saw that Ranger was still on the phone and Ella had already been up.

She'd set the dining room table for us. And our supper of pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and saffron rice was waiting under the covers of the serving dishes. Ella cooked, she ironed sheets, she made dessert. If she were male and looked like Ranger, she would have been the perfect man. If there was such a thing. Ranger would qualify, but he doesn't eat dessert and he likes to exercise, so I have to take some points off for that. Then again, he does make up for those faults witha lot of other things he's really good at.

Ranger met me in the dining room.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah. A minor computer issue at the Miami office. The head of the software company is over there now, so I'm not expecting any more problems tonight."

We ate dinner, cleaned up the dishes, then migrated back to the couch. I really could get used to this, I thought. I was once again on Ranger's lap in what I call our TV-watching-position. Which was Ranger sitting relaxed into the corner of the couch, me across his lap with my feet resting on the cushion, and Ranger's arms around me.

He found a movie that we both could agree on, which wasn't easy since I like Ghostbusters and Ranger's more of a Scarface kind of guy. By the time the credits were rolling, I was beyond relaxed. And really turned on. On and off for the last hour, Ranger had been lightly brushing his fingers across my stomach. I didn't know if it was a conscious thing he was doing to seduce me or if he didn't even realize that he was doing it. Either way, I was hoping we'd see the walls of Ranger's bedroom soon.

Of all the years I'd known Ranger and thought of him as scary, I had no idea that he had such a touchy-feely side. Though, he had touched me plenty during those years. And he'd definitely felt me up on more than one occasion, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he always had his hands on me in some way now that he could whenever he wanted.

I snuggled closer to Ranger and accidentally rubbed my butt against him. Okay, so maybe it wasn't an accident, but Ranger didn't need to know that.

"Sorry," I said softly when I felt him harden against me.

Then I was back to doing a mental happy dance, because the TV was turned off and Ranger had me in his arms carrying me to the bedroom. We didn't exactly rip each other's clothes off, but they were removed quickly. Mine faster than Ranger's. A common occurrence when I was around him. Then his mouth was on me, followed by my mouth on him. If Ranger had his way he'd torture me until I forgot my own name. But I'd found out that if I managed to get my hands or mouth on him, I could usually convince him that waiting was highly overrated.

After only a few short minutes, Ranger pulled away from my teasing mouth. He covered my body with his and lowered his mouth to mine. Then Ranger was right where he was meant to be... as close as it was physically possible for him to be.

I woke up to something soft brushing across my lips. I opened one eye cautiously and saw Ranger leaning over me with one of my curls between his fingers.

It wasn't strange for Ranger to be awake this early, but he didn't usually wake me up unless he was forcing me to run or had something bad to tell me. It was a toss up this morning about which one I wanted it to be. I really didn't want to run.

"Who died?" I asked, my voice still sounding sleepy. I decided that as long as nobody was dead, I could get through running. Maybe.

"Nobody died," Ranger said."I wanted to show you something before I have to leave for my meeting."

"What time is your meeting?"

"Eight o' clock."

"And what time is it now?" I asked.

"Five-thirty."

"And what you have to show me is going to take two and a half hours?"

"Including you getting dressed and eating breakfast?" Ranger said to me."Then, yes."

I looked at him, suspicious."Didn't you show me something plentylast night?"

Ranger lips tipped up in an almost smile."Are you complaining?"

"No."

"It's not that kind of something," he said."Come on, Babe. Get up."

He pulled me up from the bed and walked me into the bathroom. After turning on the shower for me, he walked back out closing the door behind him. I guess it really wasn't that kind of surprise, I thought, looking at the closed door. I had to admit that even though I was curious about what it was Ranger wanted to show me, I was also a little disappointed that he hadn't stayed in the bathroom with me. But if he was on a deadline maybe it was better that he hadn't. Time seemed to take a backseat to whatever we were doing together.

Since I'd taken care of my hair last night in the shower just to have an excuse to stay longer in it, I quickly washed and shaved everything I needed to and got dressed, fixed my hair, and did my makeup in record time before joining Ranger in the kitchen.

He looked at me, eyebrow raised."That must have been one of the fastest showers you've ever taken," Ranger said, looking like he was about to smile.

"That was nothing," I said to him."You should have seen me last year when the hot water cut out on me in my apartment. I swear I was completely showered in under two minutes, tops."

"I would have loved to have seen that," Ranger said, his eyes darkening.

"You've seen plenty since then," I said, sitting down across from him at the little kitchen table.

"Babe," Ranger said,"there are some things that a man never gets tired of looking at. For me, your naked body is one of them."

I knew what he meant. I'd never get tired of looking at his naked body, either. I could feel my face turn red. I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment because Ranger was openly discussing my naked body, or if it was caused by me thinking too much about his. Probably the latter. Ranger looked really good naked.

Luckily Ella chose that moment to knock on the door, saving me from throwing myself at him. When Ranger was about to stand, I motioned for him to stay where he was and opened the front door to a smiling Ella.

"Good morning," she said, with what looked suspiciously like a I-know-something-you-don't-know smile."You're up early."

I shot a glare towards the kitchen and Ranger."Not by choice," I said under my breath, as I followed her to the kitchen. Ella quickly set out our breakfast and, after assuring me that I'd have a good day, was out the door closing it softly behind her. Looks like everyone knew what my surprise was but me. That's nothing new, I thought to myself.

Ranger looked pointedly down at his watch and I got the hint. He may have wanted to surprise me, but he was still running a business and had to do things around it.

When I peeked under the cover of my breakfast dish to see what Ella had made for breakfast, my face broke out into a huge smile.

"Is this my surprise?" I asked Ranger, looking down at the stack of chocolate chip pancakes that Ella had whipped up for me.

Ranger looked like he wanted to sigh."No," he said."Ella is still excited about us getting married and she doesn't want to take a chance that I'll scare you off."

I took a bite and almost moaned."No chance of that," I said, when I finished chewing.

Ranger gave me a small smile."How much of that answer was about me? And how much was about the pancakes?" He asked.

"Right now, you're about tied."

He leaned over and kissed my maple-flavored lips."I never tie, Babe," Ranger said."I always win."

He was right. If I had to choose between him and pancakes, he'd definitely win. Of course, if he was up against a pineapple-upside-down-cake, I might have needed more time to decide.

I downed the rest of my breakfast while Ranger ate his bagel and finished his coffee. After the kitchen was back in order Ranger ushered me out of the apartment.

When we stepped off the elevator into the underground garage, I noticed that in the spaces where my POS car and Ranger's Cayenne were usually parked now sat two new gleaming Porsches.

"I know how much you like driving the Cayenne, so I got you one of your own," Ranger said to me, pulling me forward.

They were like his Cayenne, but ... more. Ranger had obviously upgraded. Who knew they even made a Turbo-style Cayenne?

I registered the fact that the cars were black. That the cars were brand new. Not to mention expensive. My mind didn't register the fact that one of them belonged to me. When it did finally hit me, I took a step away from it.

"No. No, no, no. I can't accept that," I said, pointing to the car."Remember what happens every time you give me a car? This car deserves a better owner than I could ever be. One who won't annihilate it."

Ranger had given me a Mercedes not that long ago, and how it ended up in car heaven wasn't pretty, hence the discussion about me buying my own POS. And that's probably why he wanted this to be a surprise, so I wouldn't spend an hour arguing with him about it.

"First off, it's your car," Ranger said, watching my reaction with a slight smile on his face."Second, it can be replaced if something happens to it." Ranger gestured to the second Cayenne."And I thought ahead and got a spare."

When I still made no move towards the car, Ranger spoke again.

"If it makes you feel better, consider this an engagement present."

"I thought the ring was the present," I said, turning to face him.

"No."

"What about you?" I asked."What do you get for being engaged?"

Even if Ranger didn't already have everything he needs, I didn't exactly have huge amounts of money just lying around to buy him something like this.

"I get you, Babe."

I blinked back a sudden rush of tears. If I wasn't already in love with him, that would have clinched it. For the first time in a while, I was speechless. I closed the small distance between us, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him. And I kept on kissing him until we both ran out of air, putting every ounce of feeling that he had stirred up in me into it. I didn't pay any attention to the cameras, or to the the fact that we were standing in the Rangeman garage. Nothing mattered to me but the man I had my arms around.

By the time I pulled back, Ranger's hands were firm, resting low on my hips with his leg between mine, and he had a thousand-watt smile on his face.

"What was that for?" He asked me, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.

"For how you treat me," I said, trying to find the right words for what I was feeling."And I guess, for loving me. For accepting me for who I am."

Ranger leaned forward, gently touching his lips to mine."Babe, I love you. And that means I love every part of you. No exceptions."

This man was going to kill me, I thought. Ranger was already way too sexy for his own good, let alone mine. Throw in some of the sweetest words I'd ever heard from a man and he was lethal.

I looked towards the camera that was pointed at us, suddenly conscious of where we were."Is there any chance that the control room didn't see that?"

"No," Ranger said."But if you need me to, I can fire everyone in it."

I knew he was kidding, but I would have liked to consider it. As much as I love the guys, I didn't exactly want to share such a private moment with them.

Ranger pressed another kiss to my lips before opening the driver's side door on my new car."Want to go for a ride?"

"What if it blows up?" I asked, my earlier worries returning.

Ranger smiled at me."It's brand new so it should last at least twenty four hours."

I was probably the only person in Trenton who didn't find that amusing.

"Very funny," I said, brushing by him to slide behind the wheel. I relaxed into the leather seat and inhaled. This was really close to what I'd call heaven. It got even closer to heaven when Ranger settled himself into the passenger's seat and the new car smell mixed with Ranger's Bulgari. Yep, this man was going to be the death of me. Though I was pretty sure that even if my body was dead, my hormones would still be alive and ready to go.

I started the car and looked over at Ranger."It wasn't about the car," I said to him. I didn't want Ranger to think that little scene in the garage was because he gave me something. He did give me something, but it wasn't the car. And I wanted him to know that.

Ranger reached over and slid his hand along my thigh. "I know, Babe," he said, and leaned over kissing the corner of my mouth. I reached down and squeezed his hand before pulling out of the garage.

I drove through some side streets for a while then turned towards the Burg and stopped at Tasty Pastry. The owners probably had their alarm set for the same time Ranger had his, because the bakery was always open before the sun came up.

Ranger looked over at me."Babe."

"What?" I said."This is a celebratory doughnut, and that means it doesn't have any calories in it." I was pretty sure that was a scientifically proven fact.

"We just had breakfast a little while ago," Ranger said to me.

"And?"

Ranger gave his head an almost imperceptible shake. I got out and returned five minutes later with three Boston Cream doughnuts.

I took a bite of one and offered the bag to Ranger."I bought you one, too." I really wanted to see him eat one.

Of course, I was disappointed. He didn't take the offered bag. He did however wait for me to finish my doughnut before pulling me across the console and kissing me. When we were both starved for oxygen he pulled back, but only far enough to run his tongue along my bottom lip.

"You're right, Babe," he said."It does taste good."

I felt my underwear go damp as his eyes traveled from me to the bakery bag, and the remaining two doughnuts.

I cleared my throat before speaking."If I'm going to have to drive us back to Rangeman, maybe we should wait until we get there before having the rest."

I didn't know if I was referring to the Boston Creams or to what Ranger had started with that kiss. But I knew I'd be satisfied either way.

I opened my phone to Lula two and a half hours later."It's after ten. Where the heck are you? And what are you doing?"

"I'm at Rangeman. And I was eating doughnuts," I said to Lula. And I was for the most part telling the truth.

"Doughnuts? You were eating doughnuts at Rangeman?"

"Yes," I said to her. Among other things, but Lula didn't need to know about that particular part of my morning.

"And Ranger was there?" Lula asked, not sure if she believed me.

"Yep. He had no problem with me eating them." I said, smiling. As long as he got to lick the cream off of me, I mentally added.

"Why aren't you at the office? Connie said she hasn't heard from you."

I was more interested in why Lula was at the office before noon.

"I got a late start," I told her. Okay, so technically that wasn't true. But since Ranger had to be in a meeting at eight, we had to wait until it was finished before we could pick up where we left off with the doughnuts. Lucky for me, the meeting was short.

"I bet," Lula said."I'd get a late start, too, if I was in bed with Batman."

"I just got up late," I said."My alarm didn't go off."

"Uh-huh," Lula said, not sounding convinced."Do you need a ride? I can swing by Rangeman and pick you up. I can get there even faster if you got any of them doughnuts left."

"Thanks, but I can get a ride to the office." I'd rather see the look on Lula's face when she saw my Porsche."And sorry, I don't have any doughnuts left, but I'll stop and pick some up on my way in." The doughnuts were gone almost as fast as our clothes were.

I disconnected and looked over at Ranger who was getting dressed for the second time this morning.

"I don't think she believed me," I said to him.

Ranger came over and sat down next to me on the bed."Does it matter?"

"No," I said."I just don't want everyone to think that we only have sex going for us."

Ranger cuddled me into him."Babe, if all I wanted was sex, I wouldn't have to marry you to get it."

I pulled back a little to give him a shot to the shoulder."Hey!"

Ranger gave a soft laugh."We both know that you would've stayed in my bed with or without the ring," Ranger said.

I decided I'd do the mature thing and wait to see where he was going with this before I hit him again."You sure about that?" I asked him.

Ranger smiled at my tone."Yes."

I'd like to say he was wrong, but let's face it, Ranger is addictive. I would have stayed as long as he wanted me to. Well, as long as I knew that there was more to it than just a booty call. Shit. I guess I had to admit that he was right. Again.

I blew out a breath."Okay, I see where you're going with this. We've always had something more between us, even when we weren't sleeping together."

"Glad I didn't have to point that out, Steph," Ranger said, his expression unchanged.

If I wasn't mistaken, that had a definite sarcastic tone to it so he did end up getting another shot to the shoulder after all.

Ranger grabbed both of my hands in his and had me flat on the mattress in a matter of seconds. He had effectively pinned my hands above my head while his body secured the rest of me.

His lips brushed against mine when he spoke."Are you sure you want to get physical with me?"

Oh yeah. OH YEAH! My heart sped up and I swear the clock slowed down. Lula wouldn't mind waiting a little longer for doughnuts, I told myself. She was always concerned about my well-being and she would want me to be happy. And I knew that I was about ten seconds away from being very, very happy.

"You smell an awful lot like Ranger," Lula said to me when I put my bag and the box of doughnuts down on Connie's desk.

"I used his shower gel this morning?" I suppose it didn't help that I phrased my answer like a question. And, of course, Lula picked up on it.

"At least you're smart enough not to let access to that man's body go to waste," Lula said.

I looked over and saw that Connie's eyes were a little glazed. I was pretty sure I knew what she was thinking about. She's known Ranger longer than I have, but it seemed like only recently has she realized just how hot Ranger was.

"So how did you get here?" Connie asked, recovering quickly."I didn't see Ranger's Turbo or a Rangeman SUV pull up."

I'd parked behind Lula's Firebird so they wouldn't see the Cayenne through the front window.

"I drove," I told her.

"I thought your car died for good this time," Lula said.

"It did."

"Well ...?"

"Ranger gave me a new one this morning."

Lula and Connie were already halfway to the door before I had finished speaking.

"I gotta see this," Lula said."I bet it's another one of them Mercedes like she got last time."

"No," Connie said."Ranger wouldn't give her the same car twice."

I followed behind them and almost got knocked on my ass when Lula spotted the Porsche and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Holy shit," Lula said."HOLY SHIT!"

Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too.

Connie looked over at me."He gave you a Porsche?"

"Yep."

"Isn't he worried that it won't live past today?"

"Ranger got two," I said to her."He said that this way there'd be a backup in case something happened to this one."

"What happened to not wanting to take any more cars from him?" Lula asked.

"He said to consider it an engagement gift."

"Hold the phone," Lula said."Are you tellin' me that not only did you get that big ass diamond ring, but he gave you a brand new car, too?"

"Um, yeah."

"Ranger got two Cayennes?" Connie asked.

I noticed that even Connie didn't say bought two Cayennes.

"That's cute," Lula said."If it survives long enough to make it to the wedding, you'll have Mr. and Mrs. Ranger cars.'Course if it was me, I don't know if I'd want that kind of responsibility. That's close to a hundred thousand dollar car your white ass is drivin' around."

I might have gone a shade whiter."Are you sure?"

"Yep," Lula said."Just because I love my baby, don't mean I haven't checked out some cars that may be a little beyond my spending limit right now."

"Shit."

"What are you worried about?" Lula asked."Didn't you just say Ranger has two?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to lose this one."

"That man has such a thing for you," Lula said,"that you could blow up every single one of his cars and he wouldn't even blink an eye."

I didn't think that was completely true. Yes, Ranger loves me. No, he really didn't care if I kill his cars. I think he finds it more amusing than anything else. But if something did happen to the car, especially with me in or around it, I run the risk of having a Merry Man permanently attached to my hip. In theory that doesn't sound all that bad because the Merry Men are nice to look at, but the truth is it can get a little stifling. Not to mention embarrassing. I didn't like the fact that Ranger and the guys sometimes thought I needed a keeper.

"I'm not talking about this anymore," I said to Lula. Mainly because I didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Lula's right," Connie said."Every time you and Ranger are in the same room together his eyes don't come off of you."

I gave what could be considered a snort."Yeah, right."

"I'm serious," Connie said."Why do you think we were taking bets on how long it would be before you two got together?"

"Great. Now even my friends have been betting on me?" I asked, my eyes narrowed.

"Umm ..."

"Hell, yeah," Lula said."If you hadn't of waited so long to jump Batman, I'd have a new pair of Via Spigas right now."

Most of the time Connie and Lula are great, but it's times like these that I think friendship isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

"We didn't mean anything by it," Connie said."We won't do it again."

Lula looked like she was going to say something, but a death glare from Connie stopped whatever it was.

"Uh-huh," Lula said."We promise."

I knew they were flat-out lying, but at least they were putting in some effort by pretending that they meant it.

"Ranger and I are going to get married soon, so you'll only have my car's life to place bets on and that won't be nearly as much fun," I said to them,"so you might as well just knock it off now. Do you have anything for me that's quick and not life threatening?" I asked Connie.

"He's not dangerous," Connie said."But if there's a Gilligan's Island marathon on I don't know how quick it'll be."

"Mooner?"

"Yep. He was probably stoned the day he was scheduled to show up for court."

I took the file out of Connie's hand and hefted my bag onto my shoulder."I'm off," I told them, and headed back to the Porsche. I could feel Connie and Lula's eyes on me as I got behind the wheel of the car, and I was pretty sure there would be perfect prints of both their faces on the glass when they pulled away. I gave them a final wave as I drove past, and headed for Mooner's place.

Connie was right, except that I Dream of Jeannie was on instead of Gilligan's Island. After two hours of Major Nelson telling Jeannie not to do anything crazy (boy, did that sound familiar) Mooner an I were on our way to the Trenton PD. I called Connie and told her that I had Mooner and she agreed to meet us there, so I was out of the station in under ten minutes.

Unfortunately, while walking out of the building searching for my car keys, I bumped into a solid, gun-wearing, plainclothes cop chest. Morelli. Great.

I took a deep breath."Joe," I said, as I moved to pass him.

Joe reached out and caught my arm."Cupcake, wait," he said.

I made a show of looking down at where his hand was. He was holding me loosely, but I didn't like that he thought he had the right to stop me from leaving.

Joe let go of me and sighed."I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

I didn't say anything. I was trying to get a feel of what mood he was in.

"Please, Steph," he said softly.

Damn. He knew I was a sucker for the P-word. And he didn't look like he was going to start yelling so I figured I should at least hear him out. Joe had been a large part of my life and I just couldn't see him no longer in it. I was completely with Ranger and had no desire to resume a relationship with Morelli, but I was still hoping Joe and I could stay at least somewhat friends if we were able to.

Joe must have taken my silence as a sign to break his.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted," he said."I was pissed off and I was acting like an asshole." He smiled when he saw me nod my head in agreement.

"You were an asshole," I told him.

His smile grew."I know. I heard about your engagement and I couldn't accept the fact that there would be no more us. And that Ranger was taking my place ... "

"Joe," I said, my tone warning him that it would be safer if he didn't continue speaking.

"Sorry," he said."I'm still working on it, but I have calmed down some. Truth is, Steph, I love you. And I want you in my life, even if I have to accept that it's only going to be in this way. Not seeing you isn't going to work for me, and I don't want to fight with you every time we do run into each other. It kills me to have to admit it, but for whatever reason you seem to be happier with Ranger than you were with me. And I have hole in my gut that tells me you aren't going to dump him, so I have no choice but to try to suck it up and move past it. You mean a lot to me, Cupcake, so I'm willing to try, but I have to warn you that it's going to take some time for me to move on. You really are one of a kind."

After deciding that he was telling the truth, and meant what he said, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. This was the Joe that I had originally fallen in love with.

"I'm glad that you said that, Joe," I said to him."We started off sort of friends and I'd like to end up friends if we can. It would be weird not to ever talk to you again."

"Fair warning, though," Joe said,"if Ranger doesn't treat you right all bets are off."

Now I was smiling. I knew that wasn't ever going to be a problem.

Joe leaned forward and kissed the top of my head."Take care, Cupcake," he said."I plan on bumping into you at Pino's soon."

"Count on it."

With a final wave he walked into the station leaving me wondering if Ranger was going to hear about this before I had a chance to tell him myself. Chances were good. Phones dialed themselves whenever I was around.